Most everyone (87 percent among young women) is convinced that people do judge us by our looks. The ELLE Generation woman gives herself a median score of 7 on the 10-point Bo Derek (you oldsters remember her) scale of attractiveness (the figure is almost identical for 25-year-old guys), and fewer than 10 percent think their looks are below average. Congratulations on an amazing feat of visual prestidigitation, ladies and gentleman!

The ELLE Generation: The Survey Says…

The ELLE Generation: The Survey Says…

More than ever, dating is a matter of feast or famine—and plenty of us are going hungry

There are still a lot of romantics out there: A quarter of today's 25-year-old women have been felled by love at first sight—as have fully a third of their male counterparts. But the experience doesn't always take: 88 percent of presently unattached females say it's difficult to find someone they'd like to date—and 76 percent of men agree. Wow—that's just sad! Around 20 years ago, a Virginia Slims/Roper survey found 73 percent of women and 57 percent of men feeling so frustrated. Looking further afield, about one in eight young women and men report having had a relationship with someone 15 or more years older. And there's a great yearning behind these numbers: Among both sexes, 7 in 10 believe they will need a life partner to be truly happy. But only 15 percent of young women are casually dating one or more people—while a quarter of them aren't currently dating at all. (The rest are in a relationship.) And here we thought the Internet would be so helpful! 31 percent of young women and men report having engaged in Internet dating; around a quarter of them have dealt with a breakup via text, IM, or e-mail; and more than a third of them have "sexted" nude or risqué photos of themselves to someone.